By Matt McLaughlin

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

It’s October and there is yet another funeral for a fallen comrade.

Yet another friend who will never be heard from again. Yet another soul that succumbed to the struggle that has consumed so many young lives over the past last five years.

Sadly, this struggle and loss has nothing to do with a foreign war.  It does not involve, at least directly, the two years of my life spent in Iraq.  It isn’t about soldiers dying heroically in battle. The struggle I speak of is experienced constantly by the people in my hometown of Somerville.

On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

This past Sunday was a beautiful day – all the snow from that humungous storm had melted away, so my son and I decided to walk down to Rockin’ Bob’s music store next to Johnny D’s to get a new set of guitar strings. I noticed he was bringing his iPod with him, which was kind of a slap in the face – it made me think that he didn’t want to chat with dad on the way, but I got over it.

If a child is stabbed and no one talks about it did it really happen? Yes!

Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi’s reluctance to inform parents and school officials of a Feb. 27 incident in which a seventh grade student was jabbed, or stabbed depending on your perspective, with a knife was unfortunate. The hush-hush strategy likely came from a genuine sense of caution in dealing with an uncorroborated version of events told by a child with no adult present. Pierantozzi was allowing a police investigation to take its course and shouting ‚ÄúStabbing!‚Äù at the top of his lungs was not an appropriate action to take.

Still, he and any other school official who failed to make the attack known to parents made a serious mistake.

Superintendent criticized for failing to notify parents

By George P. Hassett

A 14-year-old boy was stabbed walking home from class at the Winter Hill Community School on Tuesday Feb. 26 by a classmate wearing a black ski mask, according to police. In the aftermath of the attack Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi has been criticized by parents and school officials for not informing them of the incident.

‚ÄúNobody told me a thing,‚Äù said Parent Teacher Association President Danielle Anderson. ‚ÄúSomething should have gone out to the parents. Rumors start when there is no official announcement, parents were asking me what had happened and I couldn’t give them any answers.‚Äù

By Mia Lamar

Alderman-at-Large Dennis Sullivan declared Washington Street “the most horrible in the city,” Thursday, with several of his fellow aldermen loudly supporting him and sharing their own grievances with the state over conditions on the street.

“Not only is Washington Street one of the worst in the city, it is one of the worst in the state,” said Alderman-at-Large Bruce M. Desmond. Alderman William Roche said the street “needs to be repaved and resurfaced, from curb to curb.”

By George P. Hassett

The deal was done. Frank Privitera would receive probation for his role in the death of a 22-year-old Tufts student.

However, after the prosecutor, judge and his own lawyer agreed repeatedly that Privitera would receive a sentence of pre-trial probation and lose his driver’s license for five years, the prominent Somerville attorney and landowner walked back into the courtroom and reversed the agreement.   

The retirement party for Tom Buckley was well attended and everyone had a great time this past Saturday – Tom, who is retiring from the DPW, was there 38 years and never took a day off – he started working for the city at 18. We wish him a lot of luck in his retirement years‚Ķnot many can claim that kind of dedication – 38 years with no sick time used, he was well-liked, good natured and hopefully enjoys a peaceful life for many years in retirement. 

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Speaking of the DPW, it seems a flyer went out to all drivers asking to personally see all their licenses to make sure everyone was current and not suspended. Apparently one of them may have been fired, or let go since his CDL license was suspended – nice to know that everyone is current now.   

By George P. Hassett

Their numbers are rivaled only by Manhattan. They have been coming here for decades, “not by design but naturally.” Looking onto a Union Square street from a coffee shop window, walking on a Davis Square sidewalk, or riding on the 89 bus Рthey try to capture the city’s sights and energy with the written word.

They are the poets. And soon one could be selected from the ranks to be the city’s first poet laureate.

By George P. Hassett

Six days after a seventh grade student was stabbed at the Winter Hill Community School, parents are expressing concern that they were not notified of the incident.

“Nobody told me a thing,” said WHCS Parent Teacher Association President Danielle Anderson. “Something should have gone out to the parents. Rumors can start when there is no official announcement, parents were asking me what had happened and I couldn’t give them any answers.”

Police are looking for a Somerville man in connection with a bank robbery last week in East Somerville.

On Thursday, Feb. 28, shortly before noon, the Sovereign Bank at 125 Broadway in East Somerville was robbed.  The lone suspect entered the bank and presented a note demanding cash and stating that he had a gun.  Police said no gun was shown.  The suspect then fled the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. 

Somerville Police detectives, working with the FBI Bank Robbery Task force, say that suspect is James J. Walker, 27. With the cooperation of citizens, police said they developed information pointing towards Walker as the bank robber.